Topic last updated—January 2008
The Asset Intelligence feature in Configuration Manager 2007 has both external dependencies and dependencies within the product that should be considered when implementing Asset Intelligence or attempting to view Asset Intelligence report information.
The prerequisites for Asset Intelligence in Configuration Manager 2007 include the following:
- Client agent prerequisites
- Hardware inventory file modification
prerequisites
- Site maintenance task prerequisites
- Windows event log setting prerequisites
Client Agent Prerequisites
The Asset Intelligence reports depend on client information obtained through client hardware and software inventory reports.
To obtain the information necessary for all Asset Intelligence reports, the following client agents must be enabled:
- Hardware inventory client agent
- Software metering client agent
Hardware Inventory Client Agent Dependencies
To collect inventory data required for some Asset Intelligence reports, the hardware inventory client agent must be enabled. In addition, some hardware inventory reporting classes must be enabled in the SMS_DEF.mof file on the primary site server computer.
For information about enabling the Hardware Inventory Client Agent, see How to Configure Hardware Inventory for a Site.
Software Metering Client Agent Dependencies
A number of Asset Intelligence software reports depend on the software metering client agent for data. For information about enabling the software metering client agent, see How to Enable or Disable the Software Metering Client Agent.
The following Asset Intelligence reports depend on the software metering client agent to provide data:
- Software 07A - Recently Used Executables by
Number of Computers
- Software 07B - Computers that Recently Used a
Specified Executable
- Software 07C - Recently Used Executables on a
Specific Computer
- Software 08A - Recently Used Executables by
Number of Users
- Software 08B - Users that Recently Used a
Specified Executable
- Software 08C - Recently Used Executables by a
Specified User
Hardware Inventory File Modification Prerequisites
Important file modification prerequisites apply to the Configuration.mof file and to the SMS_def.mof file.
For more information about the Configuration.mof file, see About MOF Files Used by Hardware Inventory.
For more information about editing the Configuration.mof file, see How to Extend Hardware Inventory Using the Configuration.mof File.
Configuration.mof File Modification Prerequisites
Client Access License (CAL) data collection must be enabled in the Configuration.mof hardware inventory data class file to provide data for the Asset Intelligence Client Access License reports. To enable CAL data collection, the Configuration.mof file must be edited and associated maintenance tasks must be enabled. In addition, computer security policies must be configured to audit Success logon events. For more information about enabling success event logging, see How to Enable Success Logon Event Logging.
For more information about Asset Intelligence CAL data reports, see About Client Access License Reports.
For more information about the maintenance tasks that must be enabled to support the Asset Intelligence CAL reports, see the "Site Maintenance Task Prerequisites" section in this topic.
To enable data collection for CAL data, the CCM_CALTrackConfig WMI data class must be edited in the Configuration.mof file to configure the following required settings.
 Note |
|---|
| The Configuration.mof file is located on the primary site server computer in the <ConfigMgr installation directory> \ Inboxes \ clifiles.src \ hinv directory. |
CALCollectionType
The CALCollectionType parameter controls whether CALs are tracked for devices, users, or both. To enable CAL data collection, the CALCollectionType parameter value must be changed from the default value of 0 to a value that specifies the type of data to be collected. The CALCollectionType parameter can be set to one of the values described in the following table.
| Parameter Setting | Setting Description |
|---|---|
|
0 |
Data collection disabled |
|
1 |
User CAL collection only |
|
2 |
Device CAL collection only |
|
3 |
All CAL collection enabled |
| Note |
|---|
| If you want to enable CAL data collection on more than one Configuration Manager 2007 or Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 primary site, the Configuration.mof file for each site must be edited. |
CALCollectionFrequencyDays
A single server can be accessed regularly by thousands of users and devices. Creating a record in the Configuration Manager site database for each connection could result in high network bandwidth usage. Polling for which users or devices access the server on a weekly basis is adequate for tracking CAL usage. The CALCollectionFrequencyDays parameter value controls the frequency, in days, of CAL data collection. The default value is 7 days, but a value between 0 and 90 days can be specified. Setting this parameter to 0 causes polling to be run based on the CALCollectionFrequencyMinutes parameter.
CALCollectionFrequencyMinutes
When the CALCollectionFrequencyDays parameter setting is set to 0, polling occurs based on the CALCollectionFrequencyMinutes parameter setting. The CALCollectionFrequencyMinutes parameter setting controls the frequency, in minutes, of CAL data collection. A value between 1 and 1,440 minutes can be specified.
| Note |
|---|
| Polling for CAL information too frequently in large sites can result in a significant network impact. |
CALCollectionTimeWindow
Current Microsoft licensing models allow for CALs to be reassigned every 90 days. The CALCollectionTimeWindow parameter reflects this licensing model. If the model is changed, this parameter can be adjusted to agree with the new licensing model. The default is 90 days, but a value between 1 and 365 days can be specified.
CALSupportedWindowsVersions
To limit polling to servers, this parameter lists the operating system versions that are polled for client access information. This parameter setting should not be modified. Modification of this setting will result in inaccurate CAL counts. The default value is “5.0,5.2,6.0."
SMS_def.mof Modification Prerequisites
The following hardware inventory reporting classes in the SMS_def.mof file can be enabled to support Asset Intelligence reporting requirements:
| Note |
|---|
| The SMS_def.mof file is located on the primary site server computer at <ConfigMgr installation directory> \ Inboxes \ clifiles.src \ hinv directory. |
- SMS_SystemConsoleUsage
- SMS_SystemConsoleUser
- SMS_InstalledSoftware
- SMS_AutoStartSoftware
- SMS_BrowserHelperObject
- SMS_InstalledExecutable
- SMS_SoftwareShortcut
- SoftwareLicensingService
- SoftwareLicensingProduct
For more information about hardware inventory reporting classes used by Asset Intelligence, see Hardware Inventory Reporting Classes Required for Asset Intelligence Reports.
Site Maintenance Task Prerequisites
Two site maintenance tasks are associated with CAL information stored in the site database:
- Delete Aged Client Access License Data
Properties
- Summarize Client Access License Weekly Usage
Data
For information about enabling and scheduling site maintenance tasks, see How To Schedule a Site Maintenance Task
Delete Aged Client Access License Data
The Delete Aged Client Access License Data maintenance task is not necessary for data collection, but it should be enabled to prevent the accumulation of unnecessary data stored in the site database. The purpose of this task is to periodically delete aged CAL data from the site database that is no longer needed.
For more information, see Delete Aged Client Access License Data Task Overview.
Summarize Client Access License Weekly Usage Data
The Summarize Client Access License Weekly Usage Data task establishes summaries of usage over time and directly supports the Asset Intelligence license management report: License 11A - Historical Client Access License (CAL) Utilization.
The CAL data that is collected from client hardware inventory reports represents a single computer at a single point in time. To have meaningful reports, it is necessary to periodically gather these points together into summaries that are stored and used for the purpose of tracking usage trends over time.
For more information, see Summarize Client Access License Weekly Usage Data Task Overview.
Windows Event Log Setting Prerequisites
Four Asset Intelligence reports display information gathered from the Windows security event logs on client computers. If the security event log settings are not set correctly, these reports will contain no data, even if the appropriate hardware inventory reporting class is enabled.
The following Asset Intelligence reports rely on collected Windows security event log information:
- Hardware 3A - Primary Computer Users
- Hardware 3B - Computers for a Specific
Primary Console User
- Hardware 4A - Shared (Multi-user)
Computers
- Hardware 5A - Console Users on a Specific
Computer
To enable the hardware inventory client agent to inventory the information required to support these reports, you must first modify the Windows security event log settings on clients to log all Success logon events, as well as enable the SMS_SystemConsoleUser SMS_def.mof reporting class. For more information about modifying security event log settings to log all Success logon events, see How to Enable Success Logon Event Logging.
| Note |
|---|
| The SMS_SystemConsoleUser SMS_def.mof reporting class will retain successful logon data for only the previous 90 days of the security event log, regardless of the length of the log. If the security event log has fewer than 90 days of data, the entire log is read. |